How Night Feedings Affect Baby's Sleep

Night feedings are essential for a baby's proper development and for maintaining breastfeeding.

During the first weeks of life, newborns have very short sleep cycles: ranging from 2 to 4 hours. This coincides with the maximum time they can go without feeding.

Newborns lack established routines, do not distinguish between day and night, and their wake windows are also short (1 to 3 hours).

Essentially, they sleep and eat when they want because that’s how they have done it for 9 months in the womb. Hence, the first months of life are an adaptation period, where flexibility should prevail, although small routines can begin to be established.

Table of Contents

• Why do babies wake up to breastfeed at night
• How sleep changes during breastfeeding
• When night awakenings are normal
• Sleep associations and night feeding
• How to promote rest without stopping breastfeeding
• When to seek help with breastfeeding or baby sleep

Why Do Babies Wake Up to Breastfeed at Night

Babies wake up at night to breastfeed because they need to. A newborn's stomach is small, so it fills quickly and requires food intake every few hours.

But it’s not just a matter of feeding; it also provides emotional security and helps them regulate their sleep.

Night feedings nourish, soothe, and also promote milk production due to the peaks of prolactin that occur at night.

Biological Function of Night Feedings

Night feedings ensure the baby’s growth as they meet their high caloric demand. Nighttime breastfeeding stimulates the mother’s hormonal production, providing the baby with milk rich in melatonin and L-tryptophan, which helps the baby fall asleep and rest better.

Additionally, nighttime breastfeeding plays a crucial role in the development of the circadian rhythm, meaning their internal clock helps them regulate the sleep-wake cycle.

How Sleep Changes During Breastfeeding

During breastfeeding, the baby’s sleep changes constantly.

In the first weeks of life, it is common for rest to be more fragmented because night feedings are frequent, and the baby needs to feed, regulate, and maintain close contact with their primary attachment figure, in this case, their mother.

As the months go by, sleep is expected to improve linearly, but the reality is that infant rest evolves in stages.

There are times when babies space out their night feedings and others when they wake frequently due to the need to feed and/or for attachment.

This is due to the famous breastfeeding crises and sleep regressions, changes in their development, the acquisition of new skills, and teething, among others.

It is also worth noting that a breastfed baby’s nighttime rest does not have to be worse than that of a baby who is exclusively formula-fed.

Therefore, the idea that eliminating nighttime breast feedings will make the baby sleep better is not very accurate. When there are changes in rest, more factors are usually involved than just breastfeeding itself.

When Night Awakenings Are Normal

Night awakenings are physiologically normal and, although they can be quite inconvenient, they are part of the natural sleep cycles. This applies to both babies and adults.

One of the main reasons a newborn wakes up is due to hunger. Their small stomach requires feeding every few hours.

Feeding our baby should be on demand for at least the first 6 months of life. This reality directly impacts the baby’s rest and their night awakenings.

Remember that the baby’s sleep is a maturational process, especially during the first year of life. Therefore, during stages like the 4-month sleep regression, it is common for night awakenings to temporarily increase.

Some babies sleep through the night and do not need as many night feedings. However, there are other children who wake up frequently, either due to hunger or because they cannot fall back asleep independently.

Both situations are completely normal. Later, we will discuss when it would be advisable to consult an expert in this area.

Sleep Associations and Night Feeding

Sleep associations are the variables that intervene for your little one to fall asleep both at bedtime and during their night awakenings. Sometimes it will be the breast, a bottle, or being rocked in arms until they fall asleep.

Does your little one only fall asleep at the breast? This happens because their brain associates sucking and contact with the onset of sleep.

If the baby falls asleep at the breast, when they wake between cycles, they will need it again to fall back asleep. In many cases, it will be a non-nutritive sucking, meaning it is for comfort.

This association between feeding and sleep is completely natural in newborns.

However, if this practice continues over time as the only way to get the baby to sleep, it may become more difficult for them to learn other ways to relax and fall back asleep, which can lead to frequent night awakenings.

To break this dependency and/or breastfeeding-sleep association:

• Separate feeding from sleep in time.
• Feed your baby in a room where they will not sleep.
• Involve your partner to help them fall asleep.

Remember that after 6 months, the baby’s rhythms are more regular, making it easier to change these types of associations.

How to Promote Rest Without Stopping Breastfeeding

Sleeping close to the baby and/or safe co-sleeping can promote both breastfeeding and better family rest.

Having the baby close when they wake up and being able to attend to them in seconds will prevent them from fully waking up and waking the rest of the family.

However, this is not a magic formula for all families; use what works best for you to rest while maintaining your baby’s night feedings.

If you have questions about how to improve your baby’s rest while maintaining breastfeeding, a lactation consultant can help you better understand what factors may be influencing night awakenings and how to manage them respectfully.

When to Seek Help with Breastfeeding or Baby Sleep

If your little one is not resting properly, if they have very frequent awakenings after 6 months (every hour), difficulties falling back asleep, and/or you notice they are very irritable at night… it may be helpful to consult with a professional specialized in breastfeeding.